The annual Eternal Threads Global Market, featuring fair trade items from around the world, is back again but in a new location. Now held at Golf Course Road Church of Christ, the event will feature several new items, taking advantage of its larger new space.

“It’s really unbelievable,” said James Van Stavern, a member of Golf Course Road Church of Christ. “When I first went I thought it would just be a bunch of tacky curios, but oh no. We’re talking fabulous items that you would see in Neiman Marcus and places like that.”

The items featured at the market come from artisans from Afghanistan, Mongolia, Madagascar, Peru, Ghana and the Philippines. Among the items available for purchase are hats, bags, jewelry, home décor and clothing.

While the event has been hosted at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity for the past six years, Van Stavern said the move to Golf Course Road Church of Christ would give the market more room and allow for more items to be displayed.

“The women that spearheaded this project over at Holy Trinity, we’re just amazingly grateful to them for the six years that they did it,” said Linda Egle, Abilene native and founder of Eternal Threads.

Though it may no longer be hosted there, Van Stavern said many people who had been involved with the event at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity were still active this year.

“It’s an interdenominational thing, it’s not just Golf Course Road Church of Christ,” Van Stavern said. “It’s just a Christian mission for all churches.”

In addition to moving locations, the market will also honor the late Gary Tate, Midlander and Golf Course Road Church of Christ member who died last year.

“We have just become so inspired by (Gary Tate), the entire staff at the Eternal Threads loves him,” Egle said. “He first sought us out when we were doing our Global Market at the (Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity). It was his passion to (help) rescue children and particularly to rescue girls from being trafficked. His passion inspired all of us, and we just loved him. He would always be at our events, passing out materials and talking to people. He was just amazing.”

The nonprofit was founded in 2000 by Egle, a retired flight attendant. Eternal Thread’s mission had been a passion of Egle’s ever since she visited south India nearly a decade earlier and witnessed what life was like there for families living in poverty.

Based on the core values of alleviating poverty, empowering women, productive partnership, material and spiritual transformation and sustainable development, Eternal Treads is “dedicated to improving the lives of women and children most at risk of extreme poverty, trafficking and other forms of exploitation by providing sustainable livelihoods through income generating projects,” according to its website.

“We have great, fantastic items for sale that the women make that can be Christmas gifts or nice for someone’s home,” Egle said. “We just hope that more people will learn about what we do and about our mission and become familiar with it.”

The market will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Saturday at the Golf Course Road Church of Christ.